STEMnet Ambasssador-Teacher networking evening

Was pleased to be invited to talk about some of the Food Security-related school activities that I've

co-developed with schools last night at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.
Hopefully, showed how much the Institute of Food Research was addressing the Food Security agenda.

Chuffed that I kept to time and got a lot of networking done with both Ambassadors and Teachers afterwards. Hopefully, this will generate future collaborations.

Well impressed with pupils presentations of their STEM Club activities and Mersey STEMclub had information on various activities for clubs that looked very interesting.

Schools - gear up for British Science week (Mar 2016) - grants available

Thinking about doing a science activity for British Science week but have funding concerns?

Each year, the British Science Association makes grants available to schools and organisations to help them put on events or activities for British Science Week.

Grants may be used to fund a range of activities - from inviting a speaker to providing resources or organising a trip.  In 2016, we will have a number of grant schemes available, providing small pots of funding from £200 to £700.

The grant scheme for British Science Week 2016 is now open, and will close on Monday 23 November 2015.  To apply, please register your event or activity via our online form and continue through to the grant application section. Successful applicants will be notified by mid-December 2015.  See our website for further details: www.britishscienceweek.org>

Grants available:

Grants for schools

*          Kick Start Grants for schools in challenging circumstances to organise their own events as part of British Science Week.

o          Kick Start grant: up to £300 for your school to run an activity during BSW; or

o          Kick Start More grant: up to £700 for your school to host a science event or activity which involves your students and the local community

*          Scottish and Welsh Grants: £200

Grants for organisations

*          Community grants of £500 aimed to engage audiences who are traditionally under-represented and currently not engaged in science activity

*          Scottish and Welsh grants designed to help organisations in Scotland and Wales run events as part of British Science Week.

Grants for BSA branches

Grants are available for British Science Association branches to run events for BSW.

More information: www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/grants/>

Register an event: http://www.britishscienceweek.org/register-an-event/

Stuck for ideas?

Have a browse of the British Science Week resources, which contain lots of ideas for activities that different age groups might enjoy(www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/activity-packs/>).

You could also explore our selection of case studies of organisations and schools who have run successful events and activities for British Science Week in previous years (www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/case-studies/>)

Please contact bsw@britishscienceassociation.org> if you have any queries.

Applications are open for UK Secondary Schools to apply for **free** LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3’s

Secondary Schools - Free Lego Mindstorms #TomorrowsEngineers - need I say more? 

*Applications are open for UK Secondary Schools to apply for free LEGO

MINDSTORMS Education EV3’s

<https://education.lego.com/en-gb/lesi/middle-school/mindstorms-education-ev3/instant-success-with-ev3>

and a Space Challenge <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFGw16G6ESs>

Resources.*

*For more information and to apply before Thursday 5 November click here

<http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/EEP-Robotics-Challenge/>. We’re

also looking for STEM Ambassadors/Volunteers/Supporters. Please get in

touch.*

*_Tomorrow’s Engineers Week_**__*

*Are you running any type of STEM event in a school between 2-6 November

– or would you like to?*

Your event could be:

• A hands-on activity

• An interactive discussion

• A live online Q&A

• Or something different!

We have lots of tools, templates and ready-made activities

<http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek/toolkit/> to help you!

There’s also an interactive map

<http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweektoolkit/Activity_map/>,

where you can add your engineering activity and benefit from our

*#TEWeek15 *campaign promotion.

*Find out more about how to get involved:

**www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek*

<http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek>**

*_Tomorrow’s Engineers Careers in Engineering_*

*Tomorrow’s Engineers is more than a one stop shop for information and

resources about the amazing careers available in engineering. *

We work with The Institution of Engineering and Technology, The

Institution of Mechanical Engineers, The Institution of Civil

Engineers and The Institute of Physics to develop a programme of careers

resources that provide clear, consistent guidance for young people aged

between 9 - 16 and their teachers.

Resources are designed to enthuse and encourage young people and

teachers to seek out additional information about engineering from the

Tomorrow’s Engineers website. Materials are adaptable to suit both

younger and older students, cover regional variations and promote both

traditional and non-traditional routes. Over 730,000 young people and

19,000 teachers used Tomorrow's Engineers careers resources in 2014.

*Get your free careers

materials:*www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/Careers_resources/

<http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/Careers_resources/>

Grants for running maths activities at high schools, colleges & Universities

Education Grant Scheme

Individuals in secondary schools, Colleges of Further Education (FE) and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in the United Kingdom can apply for a grant to help with the costs of running or attending an educational activity relating to mathematics.

A budget of £6k has been earmarked for this scheme and will be split equally between schools/Further Education and Higher Education. Grants will be made up to a value of £600.

The Institute is aware that educational establishments may have to find alternative funding to help with the cost of running or attending an educational activity relating to mathematics. The Institute is pleased that the Education Grants will help financially support such activities, which will help increase the popularity of mathematics with learners and encourage the take up of mathematics post-16.

More details here at IOM web-site

Public lecture - The Complexity of the International Food Trade Network - Norwich 13:00 Friday 18th September

Professor Jozsef Baranyi

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Jozsef Baranyi will give a public lecture entitled The Complexity of the International Food Trade Network on Friday 18th September
Time: 13:00
Venue: United Nations Association, Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich NR2 1EW

Abstract:
With demand for food to increase by 50% by 2030, the current global food distribution system compromises food tracebility, which has an impact on its chemical and microbiological safety.
During a food poisoning outbreak, the first and most important task is to identify the origin of the contamination. Delays in this task can have severe consequences for the health of the population and incur social, political and economical damages with international repercussions. However, the International agro-Food Trade Network (IFTN) is less and less suitable to track the origin of food products.  A case in point was the consequences of the three weeks delay in identifying the origin of the E. coli contamination in Germany in June 2011.
An interdisciplinary approach is needed to better understand the IFTN.  Such an approach is entirely within the means of science and technology, if supported by detailed and systematic data to monitor and control food flows.  The issue no longer affecting just single countries, but the global livelihood of the human population. International organisations, such as the United Nations and the European Union, are essential to the efforts to collect and monitor data on the food trade networks.

This years RI Christmas Lectures are on human health in space!

More information here.

The 2015 CHRISTMAS LECTURES How to survive in space

We are excited to announce that this year’s Christmas Lecturer is Dr Kevin Fong, an emergency doctor and expert in space medicine, who will present the three part CHRISTMAS LECTURES series 'How to survive in space' on BBC Four this festive season. In celebration of British astronaut Tim Peake's upcoming mission to the International Space Station (ISS), this year's Lectures will shine a spotlight on international achievements in space science and engineering. Kevin and the ISS astronauts will open a window onto today’s most exciting space missions, explore the future of space travel and offer a unique insight into the challenges of protecting human life in the hostile environment of space.

Free online statistics courses for journalists

I do hope that this gets good uptake - it'll address one of my pet peeves about science stories in the mainstream media.

We have just launched two free online courses for journalists on science and statistics http://www.statslife.org.uk/resources/for-journalists 

The journalism e-learning modules, funded by the Department of Business and Innovation (BIS), takes journalists through a range of real-life scenarios related to statistics, surveys, scientific research and uncertainty. They highlight questions to ask, pitfalls to look out for, and how to communicate clearly to an audience.

The courses are targeted at all journalists and journalism students, particularly those without scientific or statistical training. Both modules are available free of charge on the RSS website at http://www.statslife.org.uk/resources/for-journalists 

Science for journalists provides an overview of where scientific and health stories start - how science works and is communicated, key questions to ask, and how to find suitable experts.

Statistics for journalists helps journalists to question and report on basic statistics that are central to many everyday stories - including surveys and polls, percentages and uncertainty.

Each course takes around 20 - 30 minutes to complete at the user's own pace, and are self-guided.

The courses are based on presentations developed through the RSS Science Journalism Programme, developed and delivered by volunteers to journalists and journalism students across the UK from 2010-2015.

For full details on the programme, including example syllabuses, presentations and resources, and the network of tutors who volunteer to deliver presentations on science and statistics in newsrooms and at universities, see http://www.statslife.org.uk/resources/for-journalists 

Scott Keir

Head of Education and Statistical Literacy

The Royal Statistical Society

12 Errol Street, London EC1Y 8LX

Direct dial: (44) 020 7614 3929

www.rss.org.uk

The RSS is a registered charity No. 306096